It ended with the complete victory of Rome and the destruction of the Carthaginian state.

1. Causes of the war

In the second half of the II century BC. AD as a result of two successful wars with Carthage, deep penetration of Hellenism into the countries of the East, subjugation of Macedonia and Greece, Rome became the largest Mediterranean power, the hegemon not only of the Western, but also of the Eastern Mediterranean. However, Rome could not consider itself the indivisible owner of the Mediterranean basin until the old, defeated, but potentially still formidable rival, Carthage, was finally destroyed.

1.1. Economic revival of Carthage

While the forces and attention of the Romans were riveted to the east, the defeated Carthage managed to rebuild and strengthen its economic position. Forced to give up military conquests and an active foreign policy, Carthaginian merchants are now investing their money in agriculture in Africa. In Carthage, a lively trade with local tribes begins to flourish, crop plantations are widely developed, and the number of workshops and commercial enterprises is growing in the cities.

This revival of the economic power of Carthage caused great discontent in Rome, especially among that part of the nobility that was associated with foreign trade. A strong and influential party arose, demanding the complete destruction of Carthage, even if it threatened a new war. At the head of this party was Mark Porcius Cato, the consul and censor of infamy, zealously promoted this idea. Cato himself traveled to Carthage at the head of an investigating commission and could take a closer look with his own eyes at the wealth of this city. He provoked public opinion against the Carthaginians and ended each of his speeches in the Senate with the same phrase: "In the end, I think that Carthage must be destroyed!"

1.2. Reason for war

The reason for the war was not difficult to find. The instrument of Roman politics was the Numidian king Masinissa. For his services in the war against Hannibal, he received from Rome a free hand in relations with Carthage. He was a talented owner, enthusiastically worked on the development of his state, accustomed his nomads to a settled life, distributed the land administration, built cities. But the barren steppe desert spaces over which Masinissa had power did not satisfy him, and he tried to get himself the best territory from the Carthaginians. All spreading his possessions, he surrounded Carthage around. The Carthaginian Senate constantly sent complaints against Masinissa to Rome, but without success: the Romans supported their ally.

The news of the decision of the Romans caused uprisings in Carthage. The Council of Elders decided to defend the city to the end. General Gazdrubal was chosen as the commander, who had previously been condemned to death for speaking out against Rome. To increase the number of troops, they proclaimed freedom to all slaves. A calm trading city has changed into a military camp.

"The sacred groves, all the shrines and other spaces of the city were replaced by a workshop; men and women worked in them for days, resting and dining in groups in the appointed order. Day by day they vibrated 100 shields, 300 swords, 1000 arrows for catapults, 500 spears, and so many catapults, as much as they could. In order to be able to pull the catapults, women tied their hair, because there was no other material "(Appian).

3. Getting Carthage

At first, the war went poorly for the Romans. The siege of Carthage was far from an easy undertaking. It dragged on for more than two years. Hasdrubal well organized the defense, provided the city with good supplies, joined the help of other Phoenician cities, even managed to get himself the location of part of the Numidians. The Roman consuls from different sides tried to get Carthage, but could not achieve anything.

In 147 BC. e. the command of the army, encircled Carthage, was taken by Scipio Aemilianus - grandson of Scipio Africanus, the winner of Hannibal in the Second Punic War and the son of Lucius Aemilius Paulus, the winner of Macedonia in the battle of Pydna. He strengthened discipline in the army, drew up a new plan of siege, surrounded the city with ramparts, closed access to the port, and moved forward step by step. In Carthage, there was no food, famine and epidemic diseases began. The position of the defenders became increasingly hopeless, so that Hasdrubal tried to negotiate with the Romans, but Scipio showed firm intransigence. In the spring of 146 BC. e. Scipio launched a general assault.

The Romans broke into the city, street fighting began, which lasted for a whole week, until the central fortress of the city, Birsu, was taken. There was a stubborn struggle for every street, for every house. Finally, the Romans set fire to the city in three places.

"It was a terrible sight. When the fire spread and destroyed everything, the legionnaires tried to bring down the houses not singly, but in whole groups. Put on a big noise, because whole masses of corpses fell with stones. Some people were still alive, especially old people, children and women, Warriors, covered with wounds and half-burned, gave out inhuman sounds. Others falling from a height were smashed and laid with stones and beams, they flew with them. Legionnaires moved aside the dumps and opened their way with axes and alive, pulled them and tore them with an iron tool.Some fell with their heads dressed, so that their bodies moved for a long time, others hooves of horsemen broke their faces and skulls ... "(Appian).

Gazdrubal with the foreman at the last minute left the castle with oil branches - a sign of peace, went out to meet Scipio and fell victorious. His wife expressed great strength of mind, therefore she killed her children and, together with them, threw herself into the fire.

4. Destruction of Carthage

The Senate commission, which arrived in the conquered city, issued a decision on its complete destruction. Carthage was set on fire and burned for 16 days. The ruins of the city, by order of the Senate, were razed to the ground and dedicated to the underground gods - the desert was here to remain forever. On the territory of the ruined city, a furrow was drawn with a plow as a sign that this place was cursed forever. The possessions of Carthage were incorporated into the Roman province of Africa.

Scipio Aemilian, like his grandfather, received the honorary name "African".

Third Punic War and destruction of Carthage

We already know that Hannibal's attempts to reform Carthage failed because of the opposition of the Rome-friendly oligarchy. Despite this, Carthage soon recovered from the effects of the war. The riches of its still vast territory, stretching east to Cyrene, continued to be a source of great income for Carthaginian citizenship. The ruling party tried to live in peace with both Rome and its immediate neighbor, Masinissa.

However, the existence of Carthage caused constant anxiety in Rome: the memories of the Hannibal war were too strong for Roman citizenship to soon forget them. As long as Scipio's traditions continued in foreign policy, things did not go beyond vague fears. The situation began to change after the Third Macedonian War. We have seen that it was the beginning of a great shift in Roman politics: the predator began to show its claws. This was immediately reflected in relations with Carthage.

In 153, the old man Cato visited Africa as head of an embassy sent to settle disputes between Carthage and Masinissa. When he saw with his own eyes the flourishing state of Carthage, the thought of destroying the city became his idée fixe. Cato's slogan "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" ("However, I think that Carthage must be destroyed") received strong support from those circles of Roman society for which merciless aggression became the banner of foreign policy.

To declare war on Carthage, it was necessary to find a suitable pretext and create the appropriate mood in Roman citizenship. Masinissa could play an excellent role here. The treaty of 201 deliberately did not define the exact boundaries between Numidia and Carthage, which served as a source of endless disputes and caused frequent sending of Roman commissions. The more hostile to Carthage they became in Rome, the more impudently Masinissa behaved. In the end, the patience of the Carthaginians snapped. At the head of the Carthaginian government were the leaders of the democratic party, who were supporters of a firmer policy towards Masinissa. His friends were expelled from Carthage, and when the Numidians attacked Carthaginian territory, an army was sent against them under the command of Hasdrubal, one of the leaders of the democrats. True, this army suffered a severe defeat from Masinissa (150), but the desired reason for declaring war on Carthage was found - the Carthaginians, in violation of the treaty of 201, started the war without the permission of the Roman Senate.

War preparations began in Rome. Frightened by their own courage, the Carthaginian government immediately sounded the retreat: Hasdrubal was sentenced to death (he, however, managed to escape and gather his own army on Carthaginian territory), and an embassy was sent to Rome, which shifted all the blame on Hasdrubal and other leaders of the military party. But the Senate recognized the explanations of the Carthaginians as insufficient. Then from Carthage came a second embassy with unlimited powers. But war had already been declared and the consular army was put on board (149).

The Carthaginian government, in order to save the city, decided to surrender without any conditions. The Senate announced that it guaranteed the Carthaginians the preservation of freedom, land, property and the state system, subject to the issuance of 300 hostages from among the children of the ruling families within a month and the fulfillment of further orders of the consuls. The hostages were released immediately.

When the consuls landed at Utica, which had already surrendered to the Romans, they demanded that Carthage surrender all weapons and ammunition. This order was also carried out. Finally, a terrible order followed: the city of Carthage must be destroyed; its inhabitants have the right to choose a new place for their settlement where they want, but not closer than 80 stadia (about 15 km) from the sea.

When this inhuman demand became known in the city, anger and despair seized the population. In a blind fury, the crowd killed the Italics who were in the city, the officials, on whose advice the hostages and weapons were issued, as well as the innocent ambassadors who delivered a terrible ultimatum.

The city was disarmed, but its location and powerful system of fortifications made it possible to withstand the longest siege. It was only necessary to gain time. An embassy was sent to the Roman consuls with a request for a month-long truce, ostensibly to send ambassadors to

Rome. Although the truce was officially denied, the consuls, having no doubt that the city would not be able to defend themselves, postponed the assault for some time.

Thus the Carthaginians obtained a precious reprieve. Hasdrubal, who occupied almost the entire Carthaginian territory with his army, was given an amnesty and turned to him with a plea to help his native city in a moment of mortal danger. To replenish the city militia, slaves were freed. The entire population forged weapons day and night, built throwing machines, strengthened the walls. Women donated their hair to making ropes for cars. Food was brought to the city.

All this happened at the side of the Romans, who did not suspect anything. When, finally, the Roman army appeared under the walls of the city, the consuls saw with horror that they were late and that Carthage was ready for defense.

The first two years of the siege (149th and 148th) passed for the Romans without any success: it was impossible to take the city by storm, there was a lot of food in it, and the Carthaginian field army prevented the complete isolation of the city. The Romans did not even manage to paralyze the activities of the Carthaginian fleet. A long and unsuccessful siege only led to a fall in discipline in the Roman army. Masinissa almost did not help the Romans, as he was dissatisfied with their appearance in Africa: he himself intended to take possession of Carthage. In addition, he died at the end of 149, and the difficult question of his inheritance arose.

Among the highest Roman officers there was only one really talented person: the military tribune Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, the son of the winner at Pydna, adopted by the son of Scipio Africanus. For the first time he advanced in Spain, near Carthage he gained a reputation as a brilliant officer, who more than once rescued the command with his resourcefulness and courage in difficult moments of the siege. One fact shows how respected Scipio was: when the 90-year-old Masinissa died, he asked Scipio to come to Numidia to share power between his three sons. Scipio successfully completed this difficult diplomatic assignment, for which he achieved the sending of auxiliary Numidian troops to Carthage.

In 148 in Rome, it became clear to everyone that it was necessary as soon as possible and at any cost to bring to an end the shamefully protracted siege of Carthage. To do this, they decided to repeat the successful experience that was once done with Scipio Africanus. In 147, Scipio Aemilianus was elected consul, although he was not yet suitable for this position due to age and experience (he was about 35 years old), and by a special decree he was entrusted with the conduct of the war in Africa.

Arriving in Carthage with reinforcements, Scipio first of all cleared the army of merchants, prostitutes, and other rabble. Having raised discipline and order in the army, he stormed the suburbs of Carthage and then, by systematic siege work, achieved the complete encirclement of the city from sea and land. The field Carthaginian army was defeated and destroyed. In the winter of 147/46, all communication between the besieged and the outside world was interrupted. There was famine in the city.

By the spring of 146, famine and disease had made such devastation in Carthage that Scipio could launch a general assault. On one section of the wall, which was almost not defended by a garrison weakened by hunger, the Romans managed to penetrate into the harbor. Then they took possession of the market adjoining the harbor and began to slowly move towards Byrsa, the Carthaginian Kremlin, located on a steep rock. The battle lasted for six days and nights in the narrow streets of the city. The Carthaginians, with the courage of desperation, defended multi-storey buildings turned into fortresses. The Romans were forced to break through the walls and cross the beams thrown over the streets, or on the roofs. The brutalized warriors spared no one. Finally, the Romans approached Byrsa. The remnants of the population took refuge there - about 50 thousand people. They began to beg Scipio for mercy. He promised to save their lives. Only 900 people, among whom the majority consisted of Roman defectors, did not want to surrender: they set fire to the temple, which was in the Kremlin, and almost all died in the fire. Those who surrendered were sold into slavery, the city was given to the soldiers for plunder.

Appian painted a terrible picture of the last days of Carthage (Libyan Affairs, XIX, 128-130): “Everything was full of groans, weeping, screams and all kinds of suffering, as some were killed in hand-to-hand combat, others still alive were thrown from the roofs to the ground, and others fell on directly raised spears, all kinds of lances or swords. But no one set fire to anything because of those on the roofs, until Scipio approached Byrsa. And then he immediately set fire to all three narrow streets leading to Byrsa, and ordered others, as soon as any part burned down, to clear the path there so that the constantly changing army could pass more conveniently.

And then a spectacle of other horrors was presented, as the fire burned everything and spread from house to house, and the soldiers did not dismantle the houses little by little, but, having piled on with all their strength, felled them entirely. From this came an even greater roar, and together with the stones fell into the middle of the street, both dead and alive, mostly old men, women and children, who took refuge in the secret places of houses; some of them were wounded, others half-baked, uttered desperate cries. Others, thrown and falling from such a height, along with stones and burning beams, broke their arms and legs and were crushed to death. But this was not the end of their torment for them: the soldiers clearing the streets of stones, with axes, axes and hooks, removed the fallen and cleared the way for the passing troops; some of them with axes and axes, others with the tips of hooks threw both the dead and the still alive into the pits, dragging them like logs and stones, or turning them over with iron tools - the human body was garbage that filled the ditches. Of those dragged, some fell head down, and their limbs, protruding from the ground, writhed in convulsions for a long time; others fell with their feet down, and their heads stuck out above the ground, so that the horses, running, broke their faces and skulls, not because the riders wanted it so, but because of haste, since the stone removers did not do it of their own free will; but the difficulty of the war and the expectation of an imminent victory, the haste in the movement of troops, the cries of heralds, the noise of trumpet signals, the tribunes and centurions with detachments, succeeding each other and quickly passing by, all this, due to the haste, made everyone mad and indifferent to what they saw .

They spent six days and six nights in such labors, and the Roman army was constantly replaced so as not to get tired of insomnia, labors, beatings and terrible spectacles ... There were still many devastations, and it seemed that this disaster would be even greater when on the seventh day to Scipio, resorting to his mercy, some, crowned with wreaths of Asclepius ... They asked Scipio to agree to grant only life to those who wish to leave Birsa on these conditions; he gave consent to all but defectors. And immediately 50,000 people went out with their wives through the narrow passage between the walls that was open to them.

Hasdrubal with his family and with the Roman defectors took refuge in the temple of Aesculapius, preparing to burn himself. But at the decisive moment, the Carthaginian commander could not stand it. He ran out of the temple and on his knees begged Scipio to save his life. Hasdrubal's wife, seeing this, caustically wished her husband to save her life, pushed her children into the fire, and after them she threw herself into the flames.

The commission sent from the Senate, together with Scipio, was to finally decide the fate of Carthage. Most of it was still intact. Apparently, Scipio himself and some senators were in favor of keeping the city. But Cato's irreconcilable point of view prevailed in the Senate (he himself died in 149, before he had lived to realize his dream). Scipio was ordered to raze the city to the ground and, betraying the eternal curse on the place on which it stood, to draw a furrow on it with a plow.

The same fate befell those African cities that to the end held the side of Carthage. Others, such as Utica, who surrendered to the Romans at the beginning of the war, received their freedom and retained their lands. The possessions of Carthage were turned into the province of Africa. The heirs of Masinissa not only retained their lands, but also received another part of the Carthaginian territory.

Thus, during the terrible year 146, two flourishing centers of ancient culture perished: Corinth and Carthage.

Many Romans, who survived the fear and disasters of the Hannibal War, forever harbored a hatred for Carthage. The life and work of Mark Porcius Cato the Censor (234-149) became a symbol of such an attitude towards the enemy. “The last of his acts in the public arena,” writes Plutarch (Caton, 26-27), “is considered the destruction of Carthage. In fact, Scipio the Younger wiped him off the face of the earth, but the Romans started the war primarily on the advice and insistence of Cato, and that was the reason for its start. The Carthaginians and the Numidian king Masinissa fought, and Cato was sent to Africa to investigate the causes of this discord ... Finding Carthage not in a deplorable state and not in distress, as the Romans believed, but abounding in young men and strong men, fabulously rich, overflowing with all kinds of weapons and equipment, and therefore firmly relying on his own strength, Cato decided that now was not the time to deal with the affairs of the Numidians and Masinissa and settle them, but that if the Romans did not capture the city, hostile to them from old, and now embittered and incredibly strong, they would again find themselves in the face of exactly the same danger as before. Returning without any delay, he began to inspire the senate that past defeats and misfortunes, apparently, did not so much reduce the strength of the Carthaginians as recklessness, made them not more helpless, but more experienced in the art of war, that by attacking the Numidians they begin the fight against the Romans and , waiting for an opportunity, under the guise of proper fulfillment of the terms of the peace treaty, are preparing for war.

It is said that, having finished his speech, Cato deliberately opened his toga, and African figs fell on the floor of the curia. The senators marveled at their size and beauty, and then Cato said that the land that gives birth to these fruits lies three days' sail from Rome. However, he called for violence more openly; expressing his opinion on any issue, he always added: "It seems to me that Carthage should not exist." On the contrary, Publius Scipio Nazica, in response to a request or speaking out on his own initiative, always said: "It seems to me that Carthage must exist." Apparently noticing that the people are becoming unreasonably arrogant and are already committing many miscalculations, that, reveling in their successes, filled with pride, they are breaking obedience to the senate and stubbornly dragging the whole state with them to where their passions lead them - noticing this, Nazica wanted at least this fear of Carthage to be a bridle to restrain the impudence of the crowd: he believed that the Carthaginians were not so strong that the Romans could not cope with them, but not so weak as to treat them with contempt. The same thing worried Cato, but he considered a dangerous threat looming from the side of a state that was once great, and now still sober and punished by the disasters experienced, while the Roman people rage and, intoxicated by their power, make mistake after mistake; it seemed dangerous to him to take up the treatment of internal ailments, without first completely getting rid of the fear of an attempt on Roman rule from the outside. With such arguments, they say, Cato achieved his goal: the third and last Punic War was declared ”(translated by S. P. Markish).

by Yeager Oscar

CHAPTER ONE The First Punic War (264-241 BC). - The uprising of the Carthaginian mercenaries; Istrian and Gallic wars. - Second Punic War (218–201 BC)

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The Second Punic War Hannibal was well aware that the capture of Saguntum would lead to an inevitable conflict with Rome. However, he besieged and after eight months of siege he took this city. As a result, in the spring of 218, the second Punic War began, which many ancient

From the book World History. Volume 4. Hellenistic period author Badak Alexander Nikolaevich

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From the book 50 great dates in world history author Shuler Jules

Destruction of Carthage 146 BC e. As a result of the third Punic war (from the word Poeni or Puni - in Latin "Phoenicians") Carthage, a colony of the Phoenician city of Tyre, which created a maritime empire in the Western Mediterranean, was taken and destroyed by the Roman army in 146 BC.

ThreePunic Warslasted intermittently from 264 to 146 BC. e. Wars were fought betweenRomeand the North African public entity -Carthage. In the middle - endIII century BC e. Carthage and Rome sought to extend their power to the Mediterranean peoples and states. At the same time, the Second Punic War occupies an important place in the history of military art and diplomacy.

Every war is like Patriotic

Let's say a few words about the First Punic War, which lasted 23 years (264-241 BC). Her puns (the distorted name of the Phoenicians - the ancestors of the Carthaginians who inherited this name) lost and paid huge indemnities to Rome, which, unlike Carthage, which was already powerful at that time, was only gaining strength in those days.

The following circumstances served as the cause of the war. In the middle of the III century BC. e. possessions of the Roman Republic reached the south of the Apennine Peninsula. Then Rome drew attention to a tidbit of land in the Mediterranean - the island of Sicily. The same island lay in the area of ​​​​interest of Carthage. The latter possessed a powerful fleet, while the Roman fleet at that time was very meager. In record time, the Romans built a fairly serious fleet (by 260 BC). In addition, the Romans, known for their engineering, decided to use the fighting qualities of their infantry at sea. They came up with the so-called corvus("raven") - a flip boarding bridge that could be rotated around an axis, hooked over the side of an enemy ship and turned a sea battle into a "land" one. Soon almost all enemy ships were captured. And for the remaining time of the First Punic War, the Carthaginians won only one naval battle. As a result, in addition to indemnities, Rome got Sicily.

Here it is worth making a reservation. In history, Rome waged each of its wars ideologically as a Patriotic War. Carthage, on the other hand, perceived the wars with Rome as colonial, distant, which can be won or lost, which, of course, is annoying, but the world would not have collapsed from this.

Second Punic War

The first reason for the start of the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) was diplomatic. Soon after the first war, an agreement was concluded on the division of spheres of influence between Carthage and Rome. In the southwest, the dividing line passed through the territory of Spain. One of the Spanish cities entered into an alliance with Rome, thus the agreement between Rome and Carthage was violated. Carthage sent troops led by Hannibal, who besieged and took the city. The inhabitants were killed. After fruitless negotiations, Rome declared war on Carthage. But in the meantime, Hannibal was already marching from Spain through the Alps towards Italy.

Hannibal made a big mistake - he did not reconnoiter the road through the Alps. As a result, out of a 60,000-strong army, only 26,000 soldiers survived the transition, and almost all of the war elephants were lost. Hannibal had to spend several weeks restoring the army and attracting the Gauls (in other words, the Celts, the old enemies of Rome) to his side.

Crossing of the Carthaginians through the Alps. Drawing by Heinrich Leutemann

In the first period of the war, Hannibal was completely successful. In heavy devastating battles, the Romans were convinced that they were fighting with a magnificent commander. Then the Senate appointed the aristocrat Quintus Fabius Maximus as dictator for six months. He began to use scorched earth tactics and wage a guerrilla war against Hannibal's troops. But this only allowed to drag out the war to restore the forces lost in the first period of the Second Punic War.

In 216 BC. e. the fight against Hannibal was led by new consuls, Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paul. A new army was raised. But at the Battle of Cannae in the same year, the outnumbered Romans were completely defeated thanks to the cunning and military talents of Hannibal. After that, the transition of many Italian cities to the side of the Carthaginian commander began, and Carthage decided to send support to Hannibal. However, Hannibal did not dare to go to the Eternal City, having made a fatal mistake. He offered Rome to go to peace, but he refused and put up a new army, mobilizing all his resources, because for him it was a Patriotic war.

Meanwhile, evidence came from Spain that the Romans had been defeated there as well. There the Senate sent Publius Scipio, the future Scipio Africanus. He quickly proved that he was a commander worthy of his ancestors, as well as a noble man, by taking New Carthage. In the person of Scipio, the Romans finally had a charismatic personality in this war. In 205 B.C. e. he was elected consul.

F. Goya. Hannibal looks down on Italy from the height of the Alps

Scipio offered to leave Hannibal and his army in Italy, and to throw the Roman army against Carthage. The Roman authorities did not support Scipio financially, allowing him to wage war in Africa at his own peril and risk. Scipio landed in Africa and inflicted a series of serious defeats on Carthage. Hannibal was urgently recalled to Africa. At the Battle of Zama, his troops were defeated by the forces of Scipio. As a result, Carthage lost the war and was forced to pay huge sums of money to the Roman Republic and hand over the hostages. Carthage was broken, but continued to live richer than the winners. Hannibal, in turn, became the first person in Carthage, was engaged in political affairs in other countries, and the Romans hunted him, which ultimately led to the fact that Hannibal, wanting to avoid captivity, poisoned himself.

Carthage must be destroyed

For many years, Carthage forgot about its great-power politics and switched to the economy, and Rome temporarily forgot about the existence of its sworn rival, until one day a Senate commission went to Carthage, which included a veteran of the war with Hannibal, Mark Porcius Cato the Elder. He saw with pain that Carthage was flourishing, which he announced in the Senate.

The years between the Second and Third Punic Wars for Carthage were complicated by relations with Numidia. King Masinissa, taking advantage of the prohibition for Carthage to have an army, regularly made campaigns against him, robbed him, but Rome did not prevent this. It came to the point that Carthage could not stand it, gathered an army, but lost to Massinissa. For Rome, this was a signal: this situation was promoted and presented by the Roman authorities as if Carthage had actually raised an army not against the Numidians, but against the Romans. Fuel was constantly added to the fire by Cato, who ended his every speech in the Senate with the words: “And yet I believe that Carthage must be destroyed.” Although Cato had many opponents on this issue, including Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilian Africanus the Younger (the adopted grandson of the winner Hannibal), in 149 BC. e. war was declared.

A consular army of 80,000 soldiers landed in North Africa. Demands were presented to Carthage: to liquidate the army, pay indemnities, hand over 300 hostages from among the noblest Carthaginians and release all captives. This was the usual behavior for the Romans: first, "undress" the enemy, then put the squeeze on. Carthage complied. After all this, there was another requirement: to move to other places where it would be impossible to conduct maritime trade. Carthage decided to respond to this with armed (!) Resistance, but first asked for a month to think about resettlement. The Roman consuls, deciding that Carthage had nothing to defend themselves with, agreed to provide this time for preparations for resettlement. This oversight allowed the Carthaginians to prepare: women cut their hair to weave ropes for throwing weapons; workshops worked around the clock, preparing weapons; people were training. Doomed and desperate, Carthage will be under siege for three long years.

Until 147 B.C. e. the Romans could not get things off the ground. Everything changed when Scipio Aemilian Africanus the Younger was elected consul. He managed to restore order and establish discipline in the army, embankments and siege structures were erected. Famine reigned in Carthage. In the spring of 146 BC. e. the assault began. Street fighting went on for a week, the Carthaginians fought for every house, but their fate was sealed. The city was razed to the ground, the territory was plowed up, flooded with sea water, so that nothing would ever grow here and no one would settle. Rome rejoiced boundlessly, becoming the master of the entire Mediterranean.

Before the beginning 3 in. Rome is constantly at war with its neighbors. There was a crop failure in Rome, the way out is to die or steal from the neighbors. Last var. preferred. But crop failures also happened to neighbors. Then it went so well, they stole in reserve. It is also interesting to subjugate, and they began to slowly unite the lands, but in a cunning way. In addition to Rome - beloved and unloved allies.

By the 3rd c. Rome claims the unification of Italy. They are hindered by the Greek. cities.

And then it turns out that there is Carthage (the western part of the Mediterranean basin) - the era of the Punic wars begins.

First Punic War (264–241). The expansion of the borders of Rome and its access to Sicily led to an aggravation of contradictions with the Carthaginian state.

By request Messana(city in Sicily) 264 Rome intervened in her internal war with Syracuse and took possession not only of Syracuse, but also of Messana itself. The west of the island was occupied by Carthage, who created fortified bases in cities Lilybey, Panorm And Drepana. The Romans advanced towards the Carthaginian cities and laid siege to them. IN 260 at Milah The Romans inflicted the first major defeat on Carthage at sea.

V 256 d. besieged Carthage, which was ready to surrender, but Rome was not satisfied with the peace conditions proposed by the besieged. The Punians began to defend themselves to the last, and the Romans, as close as ever to victory, were defeated. The fleet rushing to their aid was lost in a storm, and the defeat turned out to be worse than ever.

The world was enclosed in 241 Carthage liberated Sicily, paid a huge indemnity (almost 80 tons of silver) and handed over Roman prisoners.

Second Punic War (218–201). Revanchist sentiments turned out to be strong in Carthage, ideas arose for the violent return of the territories conquered by Rome, which led to second punic war(218–201 ). Carthage relied on an offensive war, moving troops to Rome through the Iberian Peninsula.

IN 219 the Carthaginians captured Sagunt. A brilliant military leader became the head of the Carthaginian troops Hannibal. The trip started from Spain. Hannibal with elephants and a huge army made a heroic transition through the Alps, losing almost all the elephants and three-quarters of the army in the mountains. Nevertheless, he invaded Italy and inflicted a series of defeats on the Romans in 218 city ​​(at the rivers Ticin And Trebia) and in 217 city ​​(ambush at trasimene lake). Hannibal bypassed Rome and moved further south. The Romans avoided big battles and wore down their enemies with small skirmishes.

The decisive battle took place near the city Cannes V 216 Hannibal, with much smaller forces, defeated the Roman army, led by two warring consuls: a plebeian and a patrician.

IN 211 in the war came a turning point. The Romans took the main stronghold of the Carthaginians in Italy, the city capuyu, and Hannibal was in complete isolation. WITH 210 at the head of the Roman troops became Publius Cornelius Scipio the Younger. He fought quite successfully with the Carthaginians in Spain and advocated the transfer of hostilities to North Africa, wanting to expel Hannibal from Italy. After the landing of Scipio in Africa in 204 G. Hannibal was hastily recalled to his homeland. At Zame V 202 The Carthaginian army was defeated, and Hannibal fled. In the next 201 Carthage capitulated. Under the new peace conditions, he was deprived of overseas possessions, had no right to maintain a navy, and had to pay an indemnity for fifty years. Behind him remained only a small territory in Africa.

Third Punic War (149–146). Carthage managed to recover from the defeat, and he launched a wide trade. Rome was wary of his new strengthening in the Western Mediterranean. "Carthage must be destroyed." Rome put forward a tough ultimatum to Carthage, all points of which were satisfied, with the exception of the clearly unfeasible one: the transfer of the city deep into the mainland. The Romans sent an army to North Africa, which, after a long siege, took Carthage in 146 The city was wiped off the face of the earth, and the place where it was located was plowed up. From now on, a Roman province was created here Africa, whose lands became the state property of Rome.

(218-201 BC) between Rome and Carthage, the former significantly strengthened its position in the Western Mediterranean. As for Carthage, although it lost all its overseas possessions, it remained economically strong. Here the enterprise and resourcefulness of the Phoenicians, who were in their blood, affected. Quickly recovering from defeat, the Phoenician merchants began to successfully trade and very soon became a serious competitor to the Roman economy.

In 151 BC. e. Carthage paid Rome all the debts that were imposed on it as monetary indemnity after the defeat in the Second Punic War. Thus, the Phoenicians began to believe that their peace treaty with Rome had expired. However, the Roman Senate took a different view. He was not going to accept the newfound economic power of Carthage and lose a solid source of income.

Here we must also take into account the fact that by the middle of the II century BC. e. the population of the city of Rome reached 400 thousand people and continued to grow. All this mass of people needed to be watered and fed. Therefore, the Roman Republic became in dire need of fat agricultural land. And the most delicious and productive of them were located near the city of Carthage. But these lands were not under Roman control; they belonged to the Phoenicians, and therefore agricultural products had to be bought at high prices.

As a result of all this, the opinion was strengthened in Rome that Carthage should be destroyed. This point of view was publicly voiced by the prominent Roman politician Mark Porcius Cato. Each of his speeches in the Senate ended with the phrase: "Moreover, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed." However, this phrase was attributed to Cato by the famous orator Cicero, who was born 50 years after the events described. Therefore, the authenticity of such a statement remains in doubt.

But be that as it may, Rome was seriously determined to destroy the Phoenician city. However, this could only be done as a result of hostilities. But the war needed a reason, and the Romans found it.

According to the peace treaty that marked the end of the Second Punic War, Carthage had to resolve all its military conflicts in agreement with the Roman Senate. This was used by the Numidians. They attacked the possessions of the Phoenicians, robbed them, seized territories. At the same time, the Romans almost openly supported the invaders and did not allow the Carthaginians to provide them with armed resistance.

In 151 BC. e. Numidians again attacked the border lands of the Phoenicians and laid siege to the city of Orosco. This time, Carthage could not stand it and offered military resistance to the aggressors. The Roman Senate immediately declared that Carthage began to wage war without the consent of the Roman Republic. He violated the terms of the peace treaty, and Rome declares war on him. This happened in 149 BC. e. Thus began the Third Punic War.

Carthage and Rome before the Third Punic War on the map

I must say that Carthage did not want war. He sent envoys to Rome to defuse the situation. But the Roman legions have already sailed to the shores of Africa. 80,000 soldiers landed near Utica, and the city immediately surrendered to the mercy of the victors.

The Roman army was commanded by the consuls Lucius Marcius Censorinus and Manius Manilius. They were determined. But the Phoenicians, trying to save the city, offered 300 children of the most noble citizens as hostages. They were sent to Rome, and the consuls demanded that they surrender all their weapons and armor. The Phoenicians complied with this requirement, hoping that everything would end there.

However, the consuls went further in their claims. They put forward the main demand, for the sake of which they came to African soil. It read: all the inhabitants of the city must move from their homes to a distance of at least 16 km from the sea coast, and Carthage itself is subject to complete destruction and burning.

The Phoenicians could not agree to such a demand. They asked for a month to make a decision, and the Romans agreed, believing that an unarmed Carthage no longer posed any threat.

During this month, the townspeople bought weapons, armor and fortified the city as much as possible, turning it into a well-defended fortress. And when the Roman legions approached the walls of Carthage, they saw a powerful enemy in front of them, ready to fight to the last drop of blood for their freedom and independence.

The Romans rushed to the assault, but it was repulsed. After that, a long siege of the city began, while the Phoenicians constantly attacked the Romans, giving them no rest. The Numidians also took up arms against the Roman Republic, who did not want its domination in Africa. But their dissatisfaction was expressed not in hostilities, but in complete neutrality and unwillingness to help Rome.

Carthaginian cavalry raids on Roman camps became the norm. Sometimes during such raids, the Romans lost up to 500 people. The great catastrophe was the burning of part of the Roman fleet. The Phoenicians set fire to several of their ships and launched them into the wind that blew towards the Romans. The burning ships mingled with the Roman ships, and the latter caught fire.

In such an atmosphere of universal hatred for the Romans, the Third Punic War lasted two years and seemed to have no end. But in 147 B.C. e. The Roman army was led by Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus. In Africa, he was from the beginning of hostilities, but he was elected consul only in the specified year, and ahead of schedule.

It was Scipio Aemilian who turned the tide of the war in favor of Rome. He expelled the alarmists, strengthened discipline and began active hostilities. The outer city wall of Carthage was captured, and the city harbor was blocked by a built dam. But the defenders of the city dug another channel, and their ships were again at sea. It was necessary to block a new channel and even build a wall to completely cut off the city from the supply. After that, famine began in Carthage, and many of its defenders died.

The climax of the Third Punic War came in the spring of 146 BC. uh. The Romans finally broke into the city, and street fighting began, which lasted for six days. The defenders gradually retreated and settled in the main city citadel - the fortress of Birse. But people ended up there with a minimum amount of water and food.

Very soon they began to negotiate surrender. Scipio Aemilian agreed to spare the lives of the defenders of the fortress. A total of 50 or 55 thousand people left Birsa. Among them were not only warriors, but also women and children. Some of these people were subsequently sold into slavery.

But in Carthage there was one more hotbed of resistance. In one of the temples, which stood on a high rock, a small detachment was concentrated under the command of Hasdrubal Boetarch, the commander of the defense of the city. The Romans decided to starve these desperate Phoenicians. Then the defenders set fire to the temple in order to die, but not to surrender to the enemy.

Many soldiers were in the temple with their children, wives, and they all accepted a dignified death. Only Hasdrubal did not want to die. He ran out of the burning temple and rushed to the Roman soldiers, begging for mercy. Seeing this, his wife cursed her husband and threw herself into the fire along with her two children. And Hasdrubal Scipio Aemilian was kind and took with him to Rome. He lived the rest of his life as an honorary prisoner in a villa in southern Italy.

After the last pocket of resistance was crushed, the Third Punic War ended. The Romans destroyed Carthage in 17 days. They destroyed the walls, buildings, and then set fire to it. The former Carthaginian territory was made a province of Africa. And its capital was the city of Utica. The Romans did not touch the burned city for 100 years. But then it was restored, rebuilt and in its importance took second place after Rome. But the Phoenician Carthage forever disappeared from the face of the earth.